Archive for April, 2012

Adobe Illustrator CS6 is powered by the new Adobe Mercury Performance System so you can work with speed and stability on large, complex files. A modern, updated interface streamlines daily tasks. Advanced creative tools enable you to capture your vision better than ever.

Introduction

In today’s tutorial, I’m going to show you how I created a Day of the Dead inspired portrait with Adobe Illustrator CS5. Along the way I’ll be using a variety of different sources to obtain color palettes, using a selection of brushes and many other quick tips you can use in future projects.

I’m going to be using a stock image as a base which is from the talented Claire Jones, a stock artist I’ve used a lot in my previous illustrations and a pleasure to collaborate with for today’s tutorial.

Join Brenda Sutherland, Illustrator product manager, as she shares a new sneak peek into gradients on strokes in Illustrator CS6, part of Creative Suite CS6 and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Strokes are core to drawing in Illustrator, and for Illustrator CS6, the ability to apply gradients on strokes will let designers transform simple paths into visually complex and compelling shapes.

The beauty of this approach, beyond the imaginative artwork that can be created, is that the shape that’s created is an easily edited stroke, not the typical shape that’s defined by many points.

In Illustrator CS6, gradients on strokes can be applied along the length, across the width, or within a stroke, but the real magic happens when these new gradients are combined with the variable width stroke feature introduced in CS5.

Introduction

Today is the third part in our series of Vector Art from around the world, and we’re focusing in on Mexico. I’d like to introduce you to two friends, Rafael Aguilar and Beto Garza. Both have an abstract and somewhat surreal edge, yet their rendering techniques are different. They are both passionate vector artists and fellow fans of Adobe Illustrator.

In addition to getting to know them better and featuring their work, we’ll also gain unique insight into the detailed workings and processes behind Rafael’s work, as he’s kindly shared with us some work-in-progress screenshots!

Beto Garza aka Helbetico

Beto Garza uses simple, minimal palettes to create his vector work. Using geometric shapes and patterns, his work has a childlike, playful edge, yet still maintains a sophisticated, abstract look. This is partly due to the shapes and minimal palettes he uses, and he pulls it off very well.